With water on the minds of many, the Edwards Aquifer Protection Program is a citywide, long-standing effort to maintain sustainable water levels. In April, the San Antonio city council will hear once again about the city's Aquifer Protection Program. It began around 2000, approved by voters to use 1/8th cent sales tax revenue to purchase land over the sensitive Recharge Zone in Bexar County. In 2005 the program changed a little to include Medina and Uvalde Counties. But instead of purchasing land, landowners in sensitive areas can sell their development rights. The purchase-program is voluntary, but it ensures that water can continue to get into the recharge zone unhampered. Grant Ellis is the program's special projects manager. There's no shortage of landowners who are interested in the program," he said. Ellis will tell the council that $32 million out of the $90 million in 2010 has been used so far, with a little over 23,000 acres in conservation easements obtained. From the city's
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